Double or Nothing
by 11chiyochan
Summary: Edward has been captured by Envy, and the Homunculus plans to use him as an experiment. What is this huge machine going to do to him? Set in Lab 5, Edward awakes after the experiment to find himself looking at another person...himself? !
1. Prologue: Fires and Warnings

Laura: Yo, FMA fans!

Ed: Hey guys.

Laura: This is my second FMA fanfic; my first was 'Heart of Metal,' which was a one-shot.

Ed: But this is going to be a 'proper' story this time.

Laura: …what do you mean, 'proper?'

Ed: Well, I just…this isn't a one-shot, right?

Laura: (glares) Are you saying my other fanfic wasn't a proper story?

Roy: Now you've done it, Fullmetal.

Ed: (sweatdrop) No, I just thought, ah, umm…stop glaring at me!

Laura: (anger mark)

Roy: Okay, let's start before this gets ugly. Here's the prologue, staring yours truly – me!

Ed: Hey, why does Colonel Bastard get this whole prologue to himself?

Laura: Quiet you, before I rent out my anger. Enjoy!

* * *

_Prologue_

Riza Hawkeye knocked on the Lt. Colonel's door. There was no reply from inside, so she opened the door and looked inside. The office was empty, so she sighed and walked in, closing the door behind her. Briefly, she looked over the notes on his desk for a clue to where he might have gone. She saw unfinished paperwork littered over the surface, so she brushed those aside and looked deeper. Finally she found what she was looking for; a commissioned order from one of the higher ups. Riza quickly skimmed over it. It was an order issued '_Lt. Colonel and State Alchemist Roy Mustang_' from the Fuhrer himself, telling him to investigate a matter at Lab. 5. '_So that's where he is_,' she thought. Riza sighed again, putting down the order and looking over the letter in her other hand that was addressed the Lt. Colonel. The address was written messily, as if a small child had written it, and it was addressed to '_Mr. Roy Mustang_,' – not '_Lt. Colonel_' or '_State Alchemist_' Roy Mustang. She flipped the envelope over, and in tiny writing at the bottom was written '_Elric Residence_.'

Riza rubbed the back of her neck, feeling her cold skin. Her extremely short hair didn't cover it, so her neck tended to get rather cold during the night. '_Maybe I should grow it more_,' Riza thought, letting her hand drop. '_Although it might be harder to manage…_'

Suddenly the phone on the Lt. Colonel's desk rang, drawing the woman out of her thoughts. It rang once more, and she answered it. "Hello, Lt. Colonel Mustang's office," she said into the receiver. "The Lt. Colonel isn't here at the moment, can I help you wi-"

"_Riza!!_" a voice on the other end of the line called. "_Riza, it's me, Hughes!_"

"Hughes?" Riza answered, blinking. "What are you doing calling at this hour of the night? If you're here to rant on about your wife Gracia's pregnancy, then I swear-"

"_Riza, there's an emergency_," Hughes cut in. Riza noticed he sounded out of breath. "_One of the laboratories is on fire. We need you to come and help_."

"Laboratories?" Riza repeated warily, her eyes quickly flicking to the order on the desk and back. "Which one?" she demanded.

"_Lab. 5_," Hughes answered. "_We need you down here no-_"

Riza didn't bother to listen to the rest of Hughes' order, and she slammed down the phone and ran out of the office as fast as she could. '_Oh god_,' she thought desperately, '_please, let him be all right, please…_'

Soon she reached the laboratory, which was completely ablaze. Military personnel swarmed everywhere, helping people into ambulances and trying to douse the flames. But most of them were running in and out of the facility, trying to find and rescue the people trapped inside. Riza looked around, but she couldn't see Lt. Colonel Mustang anywhere. Her stomach sank down to her feet, and dread filled her.

"Riza!"

Riza turned around, and she saluted as Hughes ran up to her. "Good, you're here," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Where's the Lt. Colonel?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level. Hughes let out a small groan.

"That's what we need you here for," he said. "He's alright," he quickly reassured Riza, seeing the look on her face. "To an extent."

"An extent?" she asked.

"Yeah," Hughes answered, looking troubled. "He's out of the building and all, and he seems to be suffering only minor cuts and bruises. But he's acting like he's in an extreme amount of pain."

"What?" Riza asked. "Where his he?"

Hughes jabbed his thumb in a direction behind him. "There's another thing," he added. "He's saying, or rather, screaming that he needs to see you right away. He's in a right mental mess." Hughes looked pretty concerned. "We need you to see him now if he's to calm down."

Riza nodded, and Hughes turned around to lead the way. They weaved around men in military uniforms and people on stretchers until an ambulance came into view. Riza took in a sharp breath as she saw the Lt. Colonel, lying on a stretcher and moaning loudly. Riza ran past Hughes and stopped by the stretcher. '_What happened to you…_' she thought fearfully. Hughes was right – there weren't many injuries on the man, but he was moaning and twitching as though he were suffering a great deal. She placed her hand cautiously on his, and his eyes snapped open. He looked over to her, and he clenched her hand. "Riza…" he whispered, and she had to fight to stop herself from crying. Instead she held his hand and said softly, "I'm here, Lt. Colonel. It's all right, you can calm down. Everything's going to be okay."

"No, Riza!!" he yelled, making her, the officers and the medics jump. He looked horrified, and he was staring at her desperately. Riza had never seen Mustang so broken and helpless, and it disturbed her a great deal.

"Riza, you have to stop him!" he said to her, his voice breaking. His grip on her hand tightened, and he was drenched in sweat. "Riza, there's another me!" he whispered to her terrifyingly. "Stop him, stop them! Before there's too many…" He trailed off into a groan, and his eyes squeezed shut as he seemed to endure more pain. Riza bit her lip. "It's alright, Mustang," she said quietly. The Lt. Colonel's eyes opened as she said his name. "It's alright," Riza repeated. "We'll find them. Don't worry, we will. We'll stop them for you."

Mustang stared at her, and Riza thought he might shout again. But he eventually nodded, and his head dropped down as he finally passed out. His hand went limp and released hers, and the medics pushed the stretcher into the ambulance. "Oh Mustang…" Riza whispered as the ambulance's doors closed. She felt Hughes walk up and stand beside her. "I hope he'll be alright," she said to him. Hughes gave her a small smile. "Don't worry," he told her, "he's a strong man. He'll recover soon, just wait and see."

Riza nodded, but as the ambulance drove away, she still wasn't comforted. '_What on earth happened to him?_'

* * *

Ed: Geez Laura, this is the longest prologue I've ever seen.

Laura: What? I like to write.

Roy: Why did you go and make me look insane?! I thought me starring in this would make me look good!

Ed: Ha ha!

Laura: It's part of the story! Don't worry, hopefully you'll straighten out by the next chapter.

Roy: Hopefully?!

Laura: Kay guys, join us back here soon!

Ed: Ha ha…Colonel Bastard really did look insane! Ha ha!

Roy: Shut up!


	2. Chapter 1: Captured Experiment

Laura: Wow, I got this next chapter up pretty quickly, considering how long it usually takes me.

Ed: Whatever. At least I'm in this chapter.

Envy: And so am I!

Ed: WHAT?! Envy is in this chapter?! You're evil, Laura!!

Laura: I know. Deal with it.

Mustang: Chapter 1, everyone.

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Captured Experiment**

"So this is it," Envy commented, tapping the giant machine curiously. "A bit big, dontcha think?"

"I realize that, but it's all we could manage with most of our original equipment gone, and the time limit you gave us to complete it."

Envy eyed the scientist across the laboratory room, and he calmly looked back at the Homunculus. '_This guy's pretty tough_,' Envy thought. '_He doesn't flinch at all. These scientist people annoy me._'

"Anyway," he continued, grinning maliciously, "I'm guessing it works just as well as the original one, right?" The scientist nodded briefly. "Even better, actually," he told Envy. "It now moves on from just imagery; we've perfected the personality traits as well."

"Personality, huh…" Envy said, inspecting the machine again. "That could be a problem, what with our next test subject." Saying this, he grinned again. "Which reminds me, would you be so kind as to go and collect him for me? I'd like to try out this new technology on him."

"Yes, sir," the scientist said, standing up from the desk he was sitting at. Envy raised his eyebrows at him. "Why do you keep calling me sir?" he asked, sounding bored, as if he didn't really care what the answer was.

"Sorry, sir," the scientist said, "but I can't really help it, considering my origin and all."

Envy blinked, then his mouth briefly changed into an 'o' shape as he understood. "Ah," he said, "I get it. You're one of _those_ scientists. I suspect you were from the military then?"

The scientist nodded stiffly, then turned to leave. "I'll get him now," he said to him, opening the lab door.

"Wait," Envy said, and he turned back. The homunculus was inspecting his fingernails. "Yes sir?" he asked.

"This machine," Envy said, jerking his head towards it. "Does it still inflict as much pain as the last one?"

"Yes, unfortunately the pain is as unbearable as the previous machine was to the test subject. If the subject isn't physically strong enough, it could even kill them."

Envy grinned even larger than before. "Perfect," he said, his tone sending chills down the scientist's spine. Envy looked up at him. "What are you waiting for?" he said irritatingly. "Go get him!"

"Yes, sir." He quickly turned again and briskly walked out of the lab.

Envy eyed the machine again, chuckling to himself. "If he dies," he said quietly, "then that's no problem to me. But if he doesn't…I'd love to see his face as he suffers the worst pain of his life." Envy laughed harshly, as though the whole thing was one sick joke.

"What will you do now, _Fullmetal Pipsqueak_?"

* * *

'Hurry up, brother!'

'Al, wait up!'

Edward ran after his brother as he raced down Central's military headquarters corridors. Alphonse had told him that he had a surprise for him, and then ran off. Edward was tailing him, but Al seemed to be leading him nowhere. He dodged an alarmed looking military man and ran out of headquarters. "Alphonse!" he called after him. "Alphonse, where are we going?!"

"You'll see!" he called back, still running at full speed. He ran behind the huge building, and Edward followed him. As he turned the corner he stopped, seeing Alphonse standing there. "Where…are…we…?" Edward huffed, out of breath. He looked around, and they were in a narrow alley with a dead end. "Al?" Edward said, when his brother didn't reply.

Suddenly a thin white line raced across Alphonse's huge armoured body, and he shimmered and shifted into a dreadingly familiar looking homunculus before Edward. "Envy!!" Edward yelled, quickly taking a step back. The green-haired homunculus grinned. "Surprise!" he called out, and before Ed could do anything else, he raced up to him and punched him in the head, knocking him out cold.

* * *

Edward woke from the dream with a start, and he felt himself sweating all over. He tried to slow down his breathing, and closed his eyes as he attempted to calm his body down. "It was only a dream," he said. "Only a dream. Only a drea-"

Edward suddenly noticed that he wasn't lying down in bed, like he usually did when he slept. In fact, he was sitting upright, and he could feel his hands tied up above his head. "What the…" he muttered, opening his eyes. He jolted awake suddenly when he saw his surroundings. He was in a cell, and his arms were chained above him. His left leg was also chained to the wall, and his hands were in a wooden block, so it would be impossible for him to use alchemy either by clapping his hands or by drawing a transmutation circle. "Where the hell am I?" he wondered allowed, starting to panic.

But before he could think about the situation anymore, the door of the cell opened, and two men in lab coats walked in. "Who are you?" Edward demanded, but the men said nothing. They walked up to him, and one of them grabbed onto his arm. "Hands off!" Ed yelled at him, jumping at him as best he could with his chained body. The men did let go of him, but then he signalled to his partner. The other man pulled out a rod from his coat, and he prodded Edward with it hard. Edward cried out as an electric jolt was sent through his body, and he went limp for at least half a minute, allowing the men to untie him and drag him out of the room without interruption. When Edward recovered from the shock, he thrashed around at the men as hard as he could. "Let go of me!!" he shouted at them, but it was no use; he couldn't break their grip on his arms. They didn't even look at him; they just held onto him and kept walking. In between his useless attempts to escape from their holds, Edward saw enough around him to recognize where he was. It was a laboratory, and it looked a lot like Lab. 5. But, if he remembered correctly, the whole lab had been blown up in Al and his attempt to infiltrate it. '_Wait a second, Al_!' he thought. '_Have these people got him captive too? Heck, who are these people_?!'

The men suddenly stopped in front of a large metal door, and they pushed it open. Edward forgot about getting free for a few seconds as he gazed in awe and fear at the room behind the door.

In the middle of the room was a huge machine. It was shaped like a cylinder, and it reached all the way up to the lab ceiling. It was made of different metals and looked big enough to fit at least ten people inside. Around the machine were more people in lab coats, some holding clipboards and taking notes, others tightening bolts and nuts on the giant machine. There was a large switchboard on the other side of the room, which Edward guessed was for controlling the machine. And in the middle of the room, inspecting the happenings in the room with no interest, was Envy.

"You bastard!!" Edward yelled, flooding with anger and newfound energy. He thrashed and kicked out with all his strength, but he still couldn't break free of his captors. Envy turned at Ed's voice and when he saw him, smiled. "You're finally here," he said. "How nice of you to join us, Fullmetal Bean."

"**WHOAREYOUCALLINGSUCHASHORTYTHATCANTEVENSEEOVERADOORSTEPHUH**?!" Edward ranted at him. Envy snickered, and the men tightened their grips on his arms. "Don't get excited," he laughed, walking casually over to him. The homunculus reached him and bent down so they looked eye to eye. "Besides," Envy continued, "I really don't think you're in the right position to be yelling at people."

Edward ignored him. "How the hell did I get here?" he growled at him. Envy laughed. "What, you already don't remember?" he said, grinning devilishly. "Or maybe I just gave you too hard a hit on the head. I must say, imitating your brother was one of my more ingenious ideas."

'_So it wasn't a dream_?' "Damn you…!!" Edward felt like kicking Envy, but he didn't want to suffer another concussion. "What do you want with me?" he asked instead, trying his hardest not to spit in the homunculus' face. "And what the hell is that machine for?"

Envy's grin widened. "Well," he said, "I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that. But where's the fun in you knowing nothing? So I'll tell you a little."

A scientist sitting at the switchboard typed in a combination on the keyboard, and suddenly the machine fired up and whirred to life. Lights flashed and beeps sounded, and Edward eyed it from behind Envy, worrying what they were going to use it for.

"What if," Envy said, smiling, "some higher up in the military was to influence something we homunculi wanted for ourselves? But that disrespectful military man refused to help us?" Envy shook his head. "Or some cocky alchemist like yourself," he continued, tapping Edward on the head, "had the power to make us a perfect Philosopher's Stone, but they refused to make it? Naughty, naughty, naughty." Edward glared at Envy as he stood up, towering over him. "Amestris is full of powerful people who won't help us with our plans, and it's just too much trouble to go around manipulating them all. So we need a way to get these people to obey us. Which is what this is for!" Envy swung his arm around and pointed at the machine, smirking at Edward.

"And what are you going to do to me with this?" Edward said, trying not to let the panic inside him creep into his voice. Envy's smirk grew till it covered nearly his whole face. "Like I said before," he said to him, "I can't give everything away."

Edward was ready to yell at Envy again, but the Homunculus turned around and called out, "Hey, whoever's the leader of this whole project thing, get in here now! We're ready to try it out on the test subject," he said, eyeing Edward with glee. The two men holding him dragged him over as two other scientists opened the door of the giant metal machine.

"Wait!! Stop!! Lemme go now!!" Edward cried, struggling and battering against the scientists. Edward saw that the inside was pure white – the walls were white and bright white lights lit the whole inside. "No!! I'm not going in there!!"

"You called for me, sir?"

Edward started as he recognized the voice, and he whipped his head around to the laboratory again. A man, again in a lab coat, was standing next to Envy, eyeing Edward with mild interest. "Yes," Envy said, grinning at Edward's horrified expression. "Start the machine up, please."

"Yes sir," the man said, nodding. He had short black hair, thin black eyes, and he stood tall with a superior air about him. Edward couldn't believe the man in front of him was here, let alone agreeing with Envy. The man locked eyes with Edward, and although Edward recognized the man completely, no recognition at all was on the man's expression. Edward slowly shook his head, not wanting to believe the sight before him.

"Colonel…Mustang?!"

Mustang blinked once as Edward whispered his name, and his face looked shocked for a split-second. Then his face became expressionless again, and he turned and walked over to the switchboard. The men holding Edward abruptly threw him into the machine and slammed the door closed. "Wait!!" Edward cried, jumping up and slamming on the door with his fists. "Wait!! Mustang, you idiot!! It's me, Edward!! Edward Elric!! Don't you even recognize me?!"

Suddenly the machine whirred louder, and Edward dropped to his knees and covered his ears at the sound. The lights seemed to burn into his skin, and he dropped onto the ground as his weight seemed to double with pressure. '_What's going on_?!' he thought, panic-stricken. '_What the hell are they going to do to me_?!'

Suddenly a high-pitched whining sound cut through the air, and an unimaginable pain coursed through Edward's veins. He screamed out loud, and his limbs thrashed out as he could no longer control them. He felt like somebody was trying to rip him apart from the inside; his skin burned, his organs twisted, his head throbbed horrifically. He screamed again, and then he blacked out, no longer being able to hold his consciousness.

* * *

Alphonse trotted down Central City's military headquarters, trying not to panic. He finally made it to the Colonel's office, and he knocked on the door a few times. There was a pause, then a woman's voice called, "Come in."

Alphonse quickly opened the door rushed inside. Riza Hawkeye was standing in her usual place at the side of the Colonel's desk, but the Colonel wasn't in his usual position at the desk.

"Alphonse?" Lieutenant Hawkeye said, sounding slightly surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's the Colonel?" Alphonse asked, looking around nervously.

"He's not here right now, he's in a meeting," she replied, stepping towards him. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, yeah," Alphonse said, turning to her. He sounded worried. "I just wanted to know whether he knew where Brother was. I haven't seen hi since this morning, and I can't find him anywhere."

"Edward's missing?" the Lieutenant asked, and Alphonse nodded. "Well, I'm not sure whether the Colonel knows anything about this, so I'll make su-"

"You're not sure the Colonel knows about what?" a voice said, as a man walked through the half-open door.

"Colonel!" both Al and Riza exclaimed at the same time.

"So, what's the problem Alphonse?" he said, walking over to his desk and sitting down. He looked at Al expectantly. "Well," Alphonse said, "it's about Brother…"

* * *

When Edward came to again, he was lying down on the white floor of the machine. His body throbbed with pain from head to toe, and he couldn't move. The inside of the machine was filled with steam, and all Edward could see was white smog. Suddenly the door flew open, and scientists piled into the machine, along with Envy. They crowded around something Edward couldn't see, and they babbled on like excited children on their first day of school. Envy bent down next to Edward. "What do you know," he said, smirking. "You actually survived. And the experiment was a huge success."

Edward knew he was going to pass out again any second, so he didn't even bother trying to ask Envy what was going on. All he could feel was pain. As his vision slowly began to blur, the scientists picked up the thing they were all gathered around. Edward couldn't tell whether he was hallucinating or seeing something real, but the thing they picked up was a person.

A person who looked exactly like himself.

Edward passed out again before he could even begin to think about what he had just saw.

* * *

Laura: DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!!

Ed: Once again I'll say it, Laura; _you are evil._

Laura: See you next chapter, peoples!

* * *


	3. Chapter 2: Results and Realizings

Laura: Sorry this took so long to update, peoples! Unfortunately I had lots of homework and chores and then I got banned from the computer and I had another fanfic to update and-

FMA Cast: JUST START ALREADY!!

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Results and Realizing**

"So your brother is missing," Colonel Mustang said thoughtfully, resting his head on top of his hands.

"Yeah," Alphonse said, fidgeting in his seat. "Have you seen him anywhere?"

Mustang stared at Al for a few seconds, then he sighed. "The last time I saw him," he said, "was when he was with you this afternoon. I'm sorry, but I can't offer any more information than that."

Alphonse nodded, then stood up and thanked the Colonel. He walked out and shut the door, and the clanking, metallic sound of his armoured footsteps slowly faded away. Mustang leaned back in his seat and placed one hand on his forehead. "What sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into now…" he mumbled, more to himself than anyone.

"Don't worry, sir," Hawkeye reassured him. "He'll be fine. He probably just went to do something and didn't bother to tell any of us."

"Yes, but still, that boy's just a magnet for trouble…"

Mustang trailed off and raised his head as he heard the returning sound of clanking footsteps; this time faster and getting louder. Suddenly the door flew open, and both Roy and Riza stared at the flustered looking Alphonse in the doorway.

"Colonel!" he exclaimed, and Mustang blinked. "Colonel, did you say you saw Brother and me this afternoon?"

"Uh…" Mustang said, still taken by surprise at Al's barging entrance. He quickly snapped back to himself though, and he cleared his throat. "Yes," he replied, "yes I did. It was right before my meeting."

"But I haven't seen Brother since this morning!" Al said. "I haven't even been here all afternoon!"

"What?" Mustang said, leaning forward. "But I saw you here before, I'm certain of it!"

"But I wasn't," Al insisted, walking back into the office. "I was in Central City's library the whole afternoon."

Mustang paused, staring at Alphonse unbelievingly.

"So you're saying," he said slowly, not taking his eyes off of Al, "that the suit of armour I saw running around headquarters with Fullmetal today wasn't you?"

"No, it wasn't," Al replied, shaking his head.

"Then who was it?" Hawkeye asked, speaking up.

Roy rubbed his brow, thinking. "The…imposter I saw," he said, "he was running through the corridors at top speed, and your brother was chasing after him."

"Maybe Brother knew he was an imposter, and he was trying to catch him," Alphonse suggested, but Mustang shook his head. "Your brother didn't look angry," he told Al. "Just surprised. I heard him call out 'Wait up, Al!' as well, so he must've thought it was you."

"So Edward didn't know it was an imposter, Al," Riza said, thinking out loud. "So the real question is, who was it? It would be fairly difficult for someone to get their hands on a duplicate of your armour, Alphonse, and then there's the trouble of mimicking your voice-"

Abruptly, Al started and gasped, causing Riza and Roy to look at him. "What's wrong?" Roy asked, standing up.

"There's a Homunculus," Al said quietly, and both adults tensed at the mentioning of the Homunculi. "There's a Homunculus…who can change his whole appearance to look and sound like someone else entirely."

There was a pause, then both Roy and Riza took in a sharp breath each.

"So you think…" Riza said quietly, and Alphonse nodded. "What's the Homunculus' name?" Roy demanded.

"Envy," Al replied. "We last saw him at the Lab 5 incident."

Roy gritted his teeth, then began to briskly walk towards the door. Alphonse stood up, and Riza stepped after him. "Sir?" she said worryingly. "Sir, where are you going?"

"We're going to organize a search party immediately," he ordered, his voice hard. "Fullmetal is to be found as soon as possible. If the Homunculi are involved, we can't waste any time!"

"Yes, sir," Hawkeye said, quickly saluting. Mustang opened the door and turned to Al. "Don't worry, Alphonse," he told him. "We'll find him, there's no doubt about that."

Alphonse nodded, and Mustang walked out, but both of them couldn't help but think the worst.

* * *

Envy looked gleefully at the unconscious Edward being carried out of the laboratory. The pipsqueak's screams had been like music to his ears, and the experiment was a huge success, which was a huge bonus. Plus, the shrimp hadn't died during the process, which was also another bonus; it meant Envy was still free to torture Ed to his heart's content.

As Edward disappeared out of one of the doorways, Envy caught sight of the 'head' scientist sitting at the control panel, staring bleakly at the millions of buttons dotted over the dashboard. The homunculus raised his eyebrows, then walked over to him. "So, what's gotten into you?" he asked, hitting the scientist in the head roughly. Usually a normal scientist would have jumped straight up and gone back to work, but this one didn't even seem to notice.

"That boy," he said softly, still staring at the controls, "he called me something..."

'_So _that's _what he's thinking about,_" Envy realized. "Yeah," he replied, smirking. "I thought he recognized you. If your original was from the military, chances are he knows you well."

"Really?" the scientist replied quietly, still not looking up. Envy frowned – he couldn't have this guy distracted by something like this, because if he was, it could lead to him becoming disloyal. And cause this scientist seemed pretty important to the whole operation, he would rather avoid that. "Hey," he growled, hitting the scientist on the head again, but harder. "Get back to work. That's an order."

The scientist quickly stood up then and faced Envy. "Yes sir," he said, and turned around, picking up a clipboard off the desk and making rounds to check the workings of the lab. '_That's better,_' Envy thought. '_But I think I better keep an eye on him. Humans are so weak, they let anything distract them._'

Envy heard an excited shout coming from outside the room, in another part of the lab. He blinked, then remembered what he was supposed to be checking on. '_Of course,_' he thought, grinning, '_the experiment. I suppose I should go check on the outcome now._' Envy sauntered past scientists and men with clipboards as he made his way towards the room with exclamations of excitement leaving it. He entered the room, and all the scientists acknowledged his appearance with a nod or bow with their heads. Envy smirked, happy to have them eating out of the palms of his hands. "Move aside, you," he ordered a skittish worker. He quickly obliged and hopped out of the way, revealing a large, grey workbench. Envy's eyes lit up with interest as he looked over the result of their experiment, which was strapped to the table. "It _is_ alive, right?" Envy asked the same jumpy scientist next to him. The scientist opened his mouth to squeak out an answer when the experiment suddenly groaned and shifted under the straps, answering the question for him. "Good," Envy said, and the scientist sighed with relief. Envy examined the human-shaped being on the table, noting every detail. The being had long, golden blond hair, tangled and wet with sweat. Its skin was slightly tanned and, although its eyes were shut, Envy knew it had gold irises.

"Ugh, will you clothe that thing?" Envy complained to another scientist. "Honestly, do you think I want to look at it in its birthday suit?"

The scientist immediately instructed other workers to go and get any sort of cloth or clothing, and Envy went back to studying the experiment. "The proportions all seem normal..." he muttered under his breath. "The size, the colour, and the _gender_, thank god." He grimaced. "Hurry up with those clothes!" he growled, making the scientists more frantic. One ran in with a large grey blanket and spread it out over the being. Before the fabric covered the last of its body, Envy took one last look and saw that where the being's left leg and right arm should be, there were two raw stumps of flesh instead. The homunculus grinned, and the sweeping blanket covered the naked body from view.

Scientists buzzed around the experiment in a frenzy, taking its temperature, checking its heartbeat, measuring its proportions. The experiment groaned again, and its eyelids cracked open. Envy smirked as he saw his assumption about its eye colour was indeed correct.

"It's waking up!" one of the scientists suddenly cried, and the others went into even more of a frenzy. Envy raised his eyebrows curiously, and the experiment's eyes opened even more. Finally the being's eyes opened fully, and it blinked slowly and looked around. "Perfect," Envy said, smiling. "Everything is going according to plan. So far."

* * *

'_Ugh…where…where am I? It…it's bright…too bright…what...what the hell is going on?_'

Slowly the experiment's eyes opened fully, but all it could see was blurry white shapes. It hurt all over; it felt like it'd just been hit by a truck or something. There were noises, too many noises. Its head throbbed, and it wished it could've stayed unconscious for longer so it didn't have to listen to this crazy scene.

'_Where am I?_' it thought again, looking around slowly. '_I…I don't remember. I don't remember anything. What happened before I was here? I…I don't recognize anyone…anything! What's going on-_'

"Perfect," a voice said, and suddenly its mind snapped to attention. "Everything is going to plan. So far."

Slowly, it raised its head towards the sound of the voice. It was the only thing in the whole room that had sounded even vaguely familiar. Suddenly it found the owner of the voice; it looked like an 18-year-old teenager, with extremely long green hair that sprouted from his head in long strips. He was wearing a black headband with a strange symbol on it, a black crop top, and black- well, it couldn't really tell whether his bottom clothing was a skirt or a loincloth. Oh no, hold on; it was a skort, that was it. The green-haired teen was smiling at it; not a happy I-love-you smile, but a smile that sent shivers down your spine. His eyes were violet and empty, except for a slight flicker of curiosity that he kept hidden very well.

It'd never seen this boy before in its existence, and yet it had the strongest urge to jump on him and clobber that smirking face inside out.

"Who are…" it tried to say, but it stopped when it heard its raspy voice. It cleared its throat, then tried again. "Who…who are you? And where…where am I…?"

The green-haired boy grinned. "Wow, he talks," he said pleasantly. '_He?_' it thought. '_So…does that mean I'm a boy?_'

"So, what's your name?" the skort-wearing teen asked. He spoke nicely, but his voice was guarded. Oh how it – no, _he_ – wished he could rip that smug expression off that teen's smug face. But he figured that if he wanted his strength to return, then he better reply just as nicely. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again as he realized that he couldn't answer. The teen smiled again at his silence. "You don't know, do you." It wasn't a question. The green-haired teen abruptly turned to one of the many weird people around them in a white coat. "Hey," he growled, grabbing the man tightly around the arm, causing him to whimper. "Your experiment isn't one hundred percent perfect. The Fullmetal Pipsqueak's memory's didn't copy-"

"WHOAREYOUCALLINGAPIPSQUEAK?!!" the experiment suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, making everyone in the room jump violently; even the damn skort-wearing teen. The experiment looked around, just as shocked. '_Where…where the hell did _that _come from?_' he wondered astonishingly. The teen blinked, then laughed loudly. "Oh, I see," he snickered, making the experiment want to rip out his plant-looking hair. "They must be buried in his mind _somewhere_. Consider yourselves lucky," he added, letting the helpless white-coated man go. He quickly scurried out of the room.

"So you don't have a name, apparently," the teen said to him, sauntering over. "Well, we'll just have to give you one." The experiment stared at him as he looked up to the ceiling, thinking. The experiment was pretty sure that plant-head actually already knew his name, plus a lot more about him. But he kept silent; on second thoughts, he'd rather stay awake than go back to being unconscious.

"I've got it," the plant-head said abruptly, snapping his fingers. He looked down at him and grinned. "We'll call you…_Elric_," he said, elongating the name. The experiment gasped as his head was suddenly filled with flashes of memories that made no sense; a smiling face of a mother, a firm face of a father, a loving face of a brother. Memories that made him smile. Then; a large, black gate, a freakish-looking mass of blood and body parts, his own arm and leg disappearing from his body…

He screamed, unable to take the memories at once. The people in white coats around him panicked, and dials and buttons flashed and beeped hysterically as the experiment moaned with pain.

Envy smiled at the scene he was beholding. "Yes, Elric," he said softly. "I think that name would be very good for you."

* * *

Edward blinked slowly as he finally regained consciousness, his head rolling to the side. His whole body hurt like hell; his head throbbed, his throat burned. Each breath made his chest ache, and every small movement sent stabbing pains through his worn muscles. "What happened…" he muttered to himself, still half-asleep. He blinked a few times, then started as he remembered.

_Envy captured me…_

_There was a lab…_

_A machine, a giant machine…_

_Mustang was there…_

_Those bastards__ threw me in…_

_And then…then…_

"THERE'S ANOTHER ME!!" he cried, then hissed as a shot of pain gripped at his insides. He realized that he was, again, tied up and chained. "Damn it-!!" he growled. "Envy, that bastard! He's gonna pay-"

"He's gonna what?" a voice asked, as the door of his prison cell swung open. Envy (speak of the devil) casually strolled in, like he was entering a classroom instead of a cell.

"You're gonna pay!!" Edward shouted, then scrunched his eyes shut and bit his lip as he tried stop himself crying out in pain. Envy laughed, gleeful he had Edward in such a wrecked state. "What's the matter, pipsqueak?" he asked innocently, kneeling down in front of him. "You aren't up to fighting today?"

Edward glared at him, and opened his mouth to speak. Unfortunately Envy grabbed onto his leg and swiftly pulled him up, swung him around once and sent him flying into the grey brick wall. Edward crumpled to the ground, and Envy felt great satisfaction as a spurt of blood dripped down from his head onto his face, staining his cheek dark red. "That was a rhetorical question, shorty," he stated. Edward amazingly managed to support himself enough to look Envy in the eye. "Don't…call…me…short!" he growled, and Envy raised his eyebrows. Then he brought his leg around and kicked Edward in the face, who smacked back onto the wall. "And no short rants either," he sneered, and to his delight Edward slumped to the ground and groaned. Blood was now dripping fluidly down from a large wound in his head, and his shoulder looked like it had been jerked into a painful position too.

Envy knelt back down beside Edward, grinning. "You know," he said to him, "that experiment you so kindly helped us with turned out great." From his tone, you might have thought they were chatting about the weather.

Edward raised his head slightly, trying to glare at Envy again. He wasn't having much luck, though. "What the hell…did you make…" he gasped, and Envy chuckled darkly. "So, you saw our little end product, didn't you?" he said, and Edward's breath caught.

"You made…" he said, in a voice that barely scraped over a whisper, "you made…_me_."

Envy grinned evilly. He let the news sink in, and Edward's face twisted into an expression of fear, confusion and anger. But mostly fear. "What are you going…to do?" he asked. His voice was weak and forced, yet he still managed to make it sound demanding.

Envy patted his head roughly, right on the open wound. "Now, now," Envy said, as Edward groaned with pain, "there are still things you can't know."

"Tell me!" Edward half-rasped, half-yelled at him. Envy frowned, then grabbed him by his collar and raised him into the air. He held him up for a split-second, then Envy tossed him across the room with as much ease as a child throwing a toy car. Edward skidded across the dirty cell floor before colliding with another wall, and he cried out as his body crumpled helplessly.

Envy smirked, then turned to walk out. He stopped right at the door before looking over his shoulder and saying, "Nobody cares, y'know. About you. It's been three days since you disappeared, and they still haven't sent a search party out looking for you."

Edward was still, and for a second Envy thought he might be unconscious. But then he stirred, and a weak voice whispered, "You…you're wrong…"

"Am I?" he chuckled. "Well, let's wait and see, then. Hopefully they'll find you…before you die."

Envy shut the door and strolled down the laboratory hallway. '_Torturing him is fun,_' he thought, grinning to himself.

* * *

Envy: Awesome! I got to beat up the pipsqueak!

Ed: WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!

Laura: Whoops, sorry Ed, but that's the way it goes.

Ed: I hate you, Laura. _Hate you_.

Laura: Get in line, pal. See you soon!


	4. Chapter 3: A Fast Learner

Envy: Hey, where's Laura?

Ed: She left this note; 'I'm so sorry for the late update, I can't even bring myself to come here.'

Mustang: What an idiot. If I was writing this, I would've had it in on time!

Riza: Yeah, just like all that paperwork that was due in at noon.

Mustang: ...wait, that was due today?!

Ed: Just read, guys.

* * *

Chapter 3 – A Fast Learner

_3 weeks..._

Alphonse stared silently at the phone on the small desk. He felt pathetically useless, sitting in his cramped military room and desperately waiting for any news on the whereabouts of his brother. He had been confined here by Mustang himself, and he wasn't allowed out at all unless he was accompanied by two other soldiers. And it was driving him crazy.

Al slowly reached for the phone, stopping with his large hand poised over it. He paused for a moment, then eventually sighed and drew his hand back. '_I can't keep calling like this,_' he told himself. '_There's hardly any chance that they've found something in the last ten minutes._' But despite this, he was still tempted to ring. He stared at the floor, wishing desperately he could do more than that. He wanted to be out there with the investigation team, looking for Edward. But after a long debate with the Colonel which he had lost, they had decided that it was best Alphonse was kept under close watch, in case the kidnappers came back for him.

'_The kidnappers_,' Al thought. '_The Homunculi_.'

Only he, Mustang, Riza and a few of the other higher ups knew about the kidnappers most likely being the Homunculi. They had kept it a secret from the military for the obvious reason of riot breaking out and the public being sent into a panic. The investigation team had only been told to be on constant guard and to look for a woman with long black hair, a bald fat man, and a youth with long green hair. They had also been shown the Ouroborus symbol, but they weren't told what it was; just to keep an eye out for anyone with a tattoo of it on.

Suddenly the phone rang, jumping Al out of his thoughts. He grabbed it eagerly before it could ring again. "Hello?" he said into the receiver.

"Alphonse." It was Riza.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye," Al replied. "Any news?"

"Well, yes," she answered, "but..."

"But?" Alphonse asked, his voice rising slightly. Riza paused, then sighed. "I think you should just come down and have a look yourself, Alphonse," she told him. "Can you come down to the Colonel's office please?"

"Yes, I'll be there now." Al quickly placed the phone back down and jumped off the bed, running out of the room. Riza put the phone down on her end, and she turned to Mustang. He was at his desk, his head on his hands, staring at the wall. "Do you really think we should be showing him this, Colonel?" she asked quietly.

"It's his brother we're talking about," he replied immediately. "We can't keep this from him, no matter how badly we want to."

Riza nodded, and looked down. "And what about you?" she asked. "What do you feel about this?"

Roy said nothing, and for a moment Riza thought he wouldn't reply. Then he wiped his face with his hand and lay back in his chair. "I refuse to believe this until I see it with my own eyes," he said firmly. "These damn Homunculus _things _won't draw me into their traps so easily."

The door suddenly opened, making both adults look up. Alphonse walked into the office, closing the door behind him. Mustang gestured for him to take a seat. He did so, and he waited in silence. Mustang looked down at his lap, where the package he was about to show Alphonse was lying. The room was engulfed in silence, and each second passed with growing discomfort. Finally Al couldn't stand it anymore.

"Any news of Brother?" he blurted out, and the Colonel looked up at him. He sighed; that was all it seemed he could do lately. "Alphonse," he said stiffly, "I don't want you getting too excited. The news we do have isn't good."

Al seemed to shrink back into his chair, and he nodded. Mustang hated having to ruin his hope for him, but he had already decided it was better for him to know this that to not.

"Some of our investigators were searching around headquarters; around the back alley ways," he continued, gesturing out the window behind him. Alphonse knew which alleys he was talking about; they were behind him and Edward's sparring ground. "They were patrolling the grounds when they spotted some suspicious evidence."

"Suspicious?" Al repeated.

" Yes. Apparently down one of the alleyways there were bins knocked over, breaks in the fence, upturned dirt, things like that. It seems as though a struggle may have taken place there."

"So close to headquarters?" Al asked. "But wouldn't they think it would be too risky?"

"That's what I think," Mustang agreed. He paused, unwilling to go on; but Riza glared at him out of the corner of her eye, so he continued. "Anyway, they were investigating the area when they found this ."

Slowly, Roy held up the package that had been seated on his lap. Al peered at it as Mustang set it down on the desk. The Colonel unwrapped the brown paper covering, and it flopped open. Al gasped as he recognized the folded red fabric now on the desk.

"That's Brother's coat!" he exclaimed, standing up. Mustang put up a hand to stop him, though, before he could reach for it. Alphonse sat back down and watched as Mustang began to unfold the coat, even slower than before. The fabric flopped open on the desk, and Alphonse gasped, going ridged in his seat. Instead of the usual plain-red-and-flamel-symbol he was used to seeing on the back of his brother's coat, there were tears and rips all around the edges and running through it. Dirt stains covered the cloth and bits of grass and leaves that had been snagged on it stuck out everywhere. But the thing that made Alphonse stare in shock at the coat was the words scrawled across it; written in what seemed like blood, and he dare not think whose.

'GOOD LUCK FINDING THE PIPSQUEAK'S BODY'.

Riza and Roy didn't object when Al grabbed the coat from Roy's hands. The boy stared at it in disbelief and horror, and no one moved. Finally Alphonse looked up and said, "This...can't be true! It has to be a fake! Brother...he can't be..." His voice broke, and he slumped back down into the chair, causing a metallic crash to echo through the room.

"Alphonse..." Riza began, but she was cut off as Mustang abruptly stood up.

"Pull yourself together, Alphonse!" he yelled suddenly. Both Riza and Al jumped violently. "Sir-!" Riza said, but Mustang continued before she could tell him off.

"Don't you think you're smarter than to buy this sort of thing?" he growled at Al, his face livid with anger. "I will not allow you to fall for such an obvious trick!"

"Sir!" Riza said louder now, her hand beginning to draw to her gun. Mustang looked over to her, and they glared at each other. Then, Mustang gave in and forced himself to sit back down. There was a moment of silence, as Al kept looking back and forth between the Colonel, the Lieutenant, and his brother's coat.

"Alphonse," Mustang continued, his eyes closed and his brow in a deep frown. "Do not convince yourself for the slightest minute that your brother is dead. Other than this, there is no other evidence that suggests he has been murdered."

Al gripped the cloth between his large hands, and slowly nodded.

"The blood is currently being tested in one of our laboratories, and we should have the results in around a week. Until then, we do not know if the blood is Fullmetal's. The area the coat was found in shows signs of a struggle, but the scene could have easily been set up by the captor. Same with the rips and stains on the coat. It is nearly certain that the Homunculi either set this up to put us off searching for him, or to taunt us, or both."

Roy opened his eyes and looked up at Al, his frown softening. "I expect you to help us by not giving up hope that your brother is still alive, and we will most definitely continue searching for him until this is proved true by Fullmetal's dead body being right in front of us."

Alphonse paused, then nodded. "Yes, Colonel," he said, and Mustang detected the hope in his voice.

'_Brother...please be alive. You have to be..._

_Hold on until we find you!_'

* * *

Envy stared blankly at the scientists going about their work, head on his hand, bored out of his mind. He'd already beaten up Edward twice today, and he wasn't allowed to visit the experiment 'clone,' because it was currently having automail fitted on the stumps of flesh where its limbs should be. It was an unfortunate flaw in the duplication machine that it couldn't replicate clothing and materials on the body; it could only copy living organisms.

Envy puffed away a stray strand of hair that had fallen onto his face, then groaned. Some of the scientists looked up worryingly, nervous as to whether their cruel boss would punish them just because he had nothing better to do. Thankfully for them, Envy turned around and was distracted as a commotion began behind one of the doors to the lab. Suddenly the door was slammed open, and Envy straightened up, ready to attack any sort of intruder. He quickly relaxed, though, and even smirked as a familiar black-haired woman strutted proudly into the room.

"Lust," he said, and the woman Homunculus smirked back. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Save it, Envy," Lust replied. "Instead of smart talking, why don't you help me get these insolent professors off my back?" She glared over her shoulder at the flustering scientists trying to order her out of the lab, saying she wasn't permitted.

Envy rolled his eyes. "You can lay off her," he instructed one of the scientists, patting him on the back. The scientist winced at his touch. "She's with me."

"Lust, why can't I just eat them?"

Envy peered around to see the rotund Gluttony trot into the lab behind Lust like a lost dog. He was peering hungrily at the scientists with one huge finger in his mouth, much to their discomfort.

"Because, Gluttony," Lust said in a bored tone, "we _need _thesehumans. Not all of them are worthless, surprisingly."

Gluttony's stomach rumbled as he sadly looked away from the scientists.

Lust looked back to Envy, flicking away a piece of dust that had fallen on her black, tight fitting dress. "So, did capturing Fullmetal go according to plan?" she asked.

Envy's face lit up with an evil grin. "Oh, I'd say it went perfectly."

Lust arched one thin eyebrow. "You better not have already killed him," she warned. "The master still wants him alive, in case this whole plan ends badly."

"Don't worry, he's still alive." Envy reassured her. "But only barely." He chuckled to himself at the thought of the half-dead pipsqueak lying on the floor in his cell.

Lust was quiet for a moment. "Have you performed the operation on him yet?" she finally asked, glancing at the huge machine in the middle of the room and back.

"Of course," Envy scoffed. "How long did you expect us to wait? We did it almost immediately after he arrived."

"And," she continued, "the end result?"

Envy smirked at her. "Why don't you come see for yourself?" he inquired. Then he turned around and began to walk out of the lab, gesturing for her and Gluttony to follow. Lust sighed, then began to walk behind him, Gluttony bringing up the rear.

"The experiment actually came out a hell of a lot better than some of our..._other_ results," Envy told Lust as they walked down the corridor of the large laboratory. Lust grimaced at the memories of past failed attempts of the experiments; with the results coming out with extra limbs or melted eyes or even the wrong gender.

"Are there any problems with it?" she asked, hoping she wasn't going to walk into a room and see a distorted thing with two extra arms.

"Well, it doesn't have a right arm or left leg; obviously the machine doesn't copy things like automail. That's where the thing is now."

"Getting automail?" Lust asked, slightly startled. She frowned. "But Envy, that takes years to install, we don't have the time to-"

"Relax," Envy told her, stopping at the door where the experiment was being kept. "We've made a few adjustments to the process of fitting automail – some unfortunately _painful_ adjustments."Envy grinned again, looking extremely pleased. "We should be finished in a couple of weeks, if all goes well. Plus," he added, "the real pipsqueak's limbs are already altered to fit automail, so that's helped us a lot."

Envy was interrupted by a sudden loud scream and a crash from behind the door. He frowned, the quickly opened the door to see what was going on inside. Lust quickly stepped behind Envy to look in, and her eyebrows rose in surprise.

The 'experiment' was running around the room with nothing but white shorts and substitute limbs on, screaming and yelling at the nurse. The unlucky nurse was chasing after it, begging it to sit back down and behave for her. The experiment was knocking down chairs and smashing bottles of medicine all over the floor, as it yelled out things like, "Don't come near me!!" and "Get that thing away from me!!"

Envy sighed, smoothing back his hair. "Another problem," he said to the shocked Lust, "is that he has the pipsqueak's freakin' temperament."

"Oh," was all Lust could reply, as the nurse finally noticed them in the doorway and started begging them to help her. The experiment retreated to the corner of the room, the furthest point from the nurse. Envy rolled his eyes, then glared at the experiment. "Hey!" he yelled across the room, and the experiment looked up at him with wide gold eyes. When it saw Envy, it looked at him pleadingly. "Tell her to go away!" it cried out fearfully. "She's trying to kill me! Make her stop!!"

Envy raised an eyebrow, then glanced at the nurse. She was staring at Lust and Gluttony, obviously wondering who they were, and Envy noted she had a needle in her hand. '_Ah_,' he realized, a cruel smile appearing on his face. '_So the real shorty must be afraid of injections. That's something I can put to use._'

"She's not trying to kill you," Envy reassured the experiment. "Now come and sit down, like a good boy."

"No! Get her outta here!!" it yelled back, glaring at the nurse like she was some sort of monster. Envy frowned. "I'm telling you to sit down, so do it now or I'll make you," he growled at the experiment. It winced at Envy's tone, then took another look at the nurse, like it was deciding whether Envy or the needle was worse. But eventually it sat down on the floor, staring at its feet. The nurse thanked Envy, who grabbed the needle off her and instructed her to get out. She hurriedly ran out of the room and shut the door.

"So, anyway," Envy continued, idly spinning the needle in his hand, "I've brought some people for you to meet."

The experiment looked up reluctantly at first, then jerked his head up and widened his eyes when he saw the twosome standing behind Envy.

"This women is Lust, and this man is Gluttony," Envy said, pointing to each Homunculus in turn. "Lust, Gluttony, I want you to meet _Elric_."

Lust noticed that 'Elric' flinched at the mention of his name, and her brow furrowed. Elric continued to stare at her and Gluttony, seemingly in shock.

"I..." he said in a weak voice. "I......I know you guys......" Elric abruptly groaned and clutched his head, his matted bangs weaving through his dirty fingers, and seemed to shrink into the corner.

Lust looked over to Envy and gave him a what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-him sort of look.

"Remembering anything from the pipsqueak's life-"

"**WHOAREYOUCALLINGSOSMALLTHATHECAN'TEVENTIEHISSHOESHUH**?!!" Elric suddenly yelled, then he groaned again, louder.

"-will send his mind into a frenzy and cause him a lot of pain." Envy's voice sounded practically gleeful. Lust looked back to Elric, who was shivering all over.

"He looks extremely...weak, compared to the real Fullmetal," she commented. "Are you sure he's going to be useful?"

Envy chuckled. "Oh, he's strong enough, there's no doubt about that," he said with confidence. "Just yesterday he kicked one of the scientists trying to treat him, and he went flying across the room. And a few days ago he actually broke down the door."

Lust turned to look at the door, which she could see now had several metal locks installed onto it.

Envy walked towards Elric, bending down next to him. Elric shied away from him, eyeing the needle dreadingly.

"Come here," Envy said, in a falsely soft tone. "I won't inject this into you, I promise." He smiled at him, a cold smile. Elric was still for a moment.

'_If I don't listen to him, I'll get hurt again_,' he thought, remembering how Envy had kicked him several times in the head because he had refused to eat for the first few days. '_I hate this bastard so much. And I know I know him from somewhere. But every time I try to remember..._' He bit his lip. '_It's not like I have a choice at all._'

Slowly but surely, Elric inched back towards Envy, and Envy eventually held his hand. Elric had a strong urge to try and break his wrist, but he resisted, fearing Envy might break his neck in return. Envy sat him back down on the chair and roughly forced his pants back on. Envy inspected his still-raw shoulder and flimsy substitute arm, then muttered something under his breath about forcing the scientists to work faster on the automail. Elric turned to face the woman called Lust again, but nearly fell off his chair when he came face to face with the fat man called Gluttony, who was peering at him inches away from his face.

"He looks just like that Fullmetal person," he said, his white eyes staring inquisitively at Elric, making him very uncomfortable. "Lust, if there are two of them, can I eat the extra one?"

Lust sighed. "No," she said, almost tiredly. "We'll find you something to eat when we leave, okay?"

Gluttony looked upset, and he turned and hopped back over behind Lust.

Elric frowned at the pair, then turned back to Envy. "Who are they?" he asked him quietly.

"They're some friends of mine," Envy replied, smirking. They're here to help you, like I am."

'_My ass you're helping me_,' Elric thought.

"Anyway, Elric, I want you to show them something," Envy said, straightening up after he was finished inspecting Elric. Elric blinked, confused.

"Would you be so kind," Envy asked him, "to show them what you've been practising these past few days?"

Elric paused, then gave a small start as he realized what Envy was talking about. "You mean..." he said slowly, raising both his real and fake arm to chest level. Envy nodded, and Lust frowned in confusion.

Elric breathed out once, then abruptly clapped his hands together. Just as soon as Lust realized what he was doing, Elric placed both his hands on the floor, and the room was filled with electric blue sparks. This continued for a few seconds, but then as quickly as it had began, it stopped. Lust blinked as her eyes quickly adjusted to the light, then looked down at the floor. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a beautifully crafted and detailed stone horse rising up from the floor, the last few blue sparks from the transmutation falling off it. She looked up at Envy, who was grinning smugly.

"Pretty good, isn't he?" he said, as Elric slowly retracted his hands and carefully placed them on his lap. "He came this far in only three days!"

Lust shook her head, amazed. But before she could say anything, the door suddenly opened. Elric jumped violently at the noise of the door being pushed aside, revealing several scientists standing in the doorway.

"Excuse me, sir!" one of them said in a strong tone, and many other skittish workers behind him gaped at him for using such a voice in front of Envy. "I'm very sorry, but you're not permitted here right now! The experiment is supposed to be being fitted for automail, and that order can't be carried out unless you leave."

Envy stared at the confident scientist blankly, and the room was filled with a tense silence; everyone was obviously wondering whether Envy was going to rip his head off for speaking so up-frontly to him. But, to everyone's surprise, Envy smiled, shrugged, and replied, "You're right. I'm sorry to have disturbed your working."

Envy patted Elric on the shoulder , and he looked up at him. Envy suddenly produced the needle from behind his back, and Elric's eyes widened in fear. He tried to jump off the chair, but Envy's grip on his shoulder tightened, and he plunged the needle into his arm. Elric yelled out in pain and began to thrash, but in mere seconds he slowed and his scream died down. In another few seconds his body went completely limb, and Envy let him go so that he fell onto the floor.

"I was wondering what was in this," Envy thought out loud, as the scientists, Lust and Gluttony stared at the unconscious Elric on the floor. Envy flicked the needle over his shoulder and the sauntered over to the door, where all the scientists scurried out of the way for him to exit. On his way out, Envy winked at the stronger scientist and remarked, "He's all yours."

Lust and Gluttony followed Envy out of the room and back down the corridor. Lust quickly caught up with the green-haired Homunculus and walked beside him.

"Envy," she said firmly, "tell me how that double learnt alchemy so quickly. There's no way that-"

"Oh yes, there is that way, Lust," Envy interrupted, stretching his arms as he walked. "I was just as surprised as you, that thing is an extremely fast learner."

"But that's impossible," Lust still insisted. "It would take a normal alchemist nearly a year to perfect a statue that detailed."

"Like I said, I was as surprised as you," Envy said again, more seriously. "He's a natural, just like the Fullmetal Bean. And using alchemy," Envy added, a small smirk forming on his lips, "is how he blasted the door open yesterday."

Lust shook her head, unable to comprehend the rate Edward Elric's double was learning. "Are you sure you can keep him under control?" she asked, flicking her long black hair out of her eyes with a toss of her head. "What if he suddenly decides he doesn't want to cooperate anymore?"

With this comment, Envy gave a short, sharp laugh. "Did you see him back there?" he said gleefully, his malicious grin returning once again. "He jumps at a door being opened, and can't mentally comprehend himself when I say the word 'short'. Trust me, he's been too easy to manipulate ever since he arrived. And I intend to keep it that way."

Lust was quite for a moment, running over what Envy had said in her mind. "So what next?" she asked. "You're going to convince the real Edward to tell us where he's hidden his research, aren't you?"

"Soon, yes," Envy agreed. "But first, I want to have some fun with little 'Elric'."

Lust frowned. "What do you mean, 'fun'?" she said in a low voice.

"Some manipulating here, some torture there," Envy sniggered. "I want to see the look on the real pipsqueak's face when he gets beat up – by _himself_." Envy laughed to himself, and Lust looked away from him. '_Well, I guess it's okay if I let him play for a little,_' she thought to herself. '_He'll sulk if I don't let him. I wonder what will come of all this..._'

Suddenly another thought entered her mind, and she looked back to Envy. "Oh yes," she said to him, "who was that other scientist? The one who didn't shiver when you spoke," she said, almost sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, him," Envy replied. "He's something like the equivalent to the head of this whole operation. Doesn't shake every time I approach him or stutter when he talks." Envy paused. "He's also," he continued, "another experiment result."

Lust nodded. "I thought so," she commented, and Envy looked at her questionably. "He looks like the Flame Alchemist," she told him, and Envy scratched his head. "What, you mean that Roy Mustang guy?" he said. "How'd these scientists get a hold of him?"

Lust shrugged, not really caring to know anyway. "I only recognized him because he was a friend of Maes Hughes."

Envy chuckled darkly. "Ah yes, Hughes," he commented, remembering. "What a wonderfully fun night that was."

Lust an Envy both jumped as a loud squelching sound and a short scream echoed behind them, and they quickly turned round. Lust shook her head when she saw Gluttony standing a few steps behind them, gulping down something large. Envy raised his eyebrows at the large bloody mess on the floor, mentally noting to get someone to come clean it later.

"Gluttony," Lust said exasperatingly, "I already told you we'd get you something later."

"I'm soooooorry, Lust," he whined like a small child, wiping blood away from his mouth. "But I couldn't help it. I was so hungry!"

Lust sighed, rubbing her forehead, and Envy gave a small laugh as Gluttony emitted a small burp.

* * *

Ed: Laura STILL isn't here!

Envy: Isn't that a good thing?

Mustang: (signing papers furiously)

Riza: (cocks gun)


End file.
